THE jobless rate among recent British graduates is the highest in five of the world's largest economies, an international survey showed yesterday.

Nearly two-thirds of those who gained a degree in the UK had not found a job up to six months after leaving university, the poll for management consultants Accenture showed.

The US, France, Germany and Spain all had higher proportions in work but UK graduates were hopeful of getting full-time jobs soon - and were among the most confident about their career prospects.

Yesterday figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed almost three out of 10 UK graduates were in lowly secretarial, administrative or sales positions and only a quarter were in fully professional jobs.

And 7% of those who finished their studies in 2003 were unemployed.

The Accenture poll of 1,500 people showed employment rates were highest in the US, where 55% of new graduates were in work.

France followed with 48%, then Spain (42%), while Germany came out just ahead of the UK with 39% of graduates in employment.

Domestic graduates, however, were more optimistic about their chances of getting a full-time job that met their expectations than those from all the other nations apart from the US.

Just 17% did not feel confident about their prospects, compared with 14% in the US, 18% in Germany, 33% in Spain and 35% in France.

Popular sectors for those in work and those still job-hunting were media and entertainment, electronics and high-tech and health and life sciences.

The metals and mining sector was the most unpopular area for UK graduates.